by Florian Mueller
In WarCraft II's popular Map Editor,
Blizzard Entertainment discloses tons
of information about its enormously
popular game. However we've gone one
step further, revealing facts not
found in the game's documentation or
in the Map Editor.
In Part I of this Insider's Guide,
we'll look at essential statistics
and strategies for all land, sea, and
air units. And in Part II, we'll
reveal previously unknown facts about
spells - for paladins and mages, and
for ogre-mages and death knights.
Packing these insider secrets, you'll
be armed with the most deadly weapon
of all: Knowledge.
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[PART I:The Insider Point of View]
Good Vs. Evil
Speed Demons
Attack Power and Armor
WarCraft's Internal Clock
[PART II:The Magic of Azeroth]
Availability of Spells
Spells for Humans and Their Allies
Spells for the Dead and the Horde
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PART I:
The Insider Point of View
Good Vs. Evil
[Knight] [Orcish] If you have commanded the Orcish Horde and the
Alliance of Lordaeron, you may have noticed that each unit and building
of one race has an equivalent unit and building on the enemy side. All
characteristics of these corresponding units (building and training
costs, strength, speed, etc.) are identical, except for the graphics,
sound, and ­ more important ­ the spells. While an Alliance mage has
the same function as a Horde death knight (paladins and ogre-mages have
similar functions as well), the magic of the two races is different.
Throughout this guide the term "unit" is used to refer to knights,
ogres, dragons, and gryphon riders, as well as buildings, catapults and
such. There is no difference between live units in terms of attack
power, armor, and speed.
PART I: The Insider Point of View [page 2 of 4]
Speed Demons
[Wounded Grunt]
The selected grunt
has already been
seriously wounded.
During the game, the impression of a unit's speed can be misleading.
The numbers shown in the unit window for "speed", on the other hand,
accurately reflect how fast the unit is moving. While the beefy ogres
are hardly light on their toes, they are the quickest of the WarCraft
ground units. Dragons, once in motion, are nearly as fast as zeppelins,
except when you want them to change direction. Even so, a dragon can
usually catch up with an escaping unit if that unit has not already
covered a lot of ground in its retreat.
Note: Except for skeletons and catapults, mages (and Orcish death
knights) are outpaced by all other units. When engaging these units in
battle, every second counts: Situate them a safe distance from the
front line, and order them to run away immediately after casting a
spell.
Demolition squads are only marginally faster than grunts and archers,
but this slight advantage is usually enough to ensure their escape from
these enemies. Because demo squads are not well armored for one-on-one
combat, keep them clear of duels.
Table 1. Ground Unit Speed Ranking
+------+---------------------------+--------------------------+-------+
| rank | unit | unit | speed |
| | (Human) | (Orcish) | |
+------+---------------------------+--------------------------+-------+
| 1. | paladin | ogre-mage | 13 |
| | knight | ogre | 13 |
+------+---------------------------+--------------------------+-------+
| 2. | dwarven demolition squad | goblin demolition squad | 11 |
+------+---------------------------+--------------------------+-------+
| 3. | footman | grunt | 10 |
| | peasant | peon | 10 |
| | elven ranger | troll berserker | 10 |
| | archer | axe thrower | 10 |
+------+---------------------------+--------------------------+-------+
| 4. | mage | death knight | 8 |
| | | skeleton | 8 |
+------+---------------------------+--------------------------+-------+
| 5. | ballista | catapult | 5 |
+------+---------------------------+--------------------------+-------+
Civilian oil tankers and weaponless transports cannot defend
themselves, but their high speed ranking enables them to outdistance
enemy warships in pursuit. Unarmed sea units are generally safe upon
reaching their own war party's battleships, or when they return to
shipyards protected by towers and/or catapults.
Because they are faster than submarines, destroyers, transports and oil
tankers are only slightly vulnerable to attacks by undersea units. This
speed advantage makes pursuit by invisible submarines less of a
problem. Only the sluggish battleships and ogre juggernauts will
require defensive support. The best option here is to use an air unit
to identify and destroy submarine attackers.
Table 2. Sea Unit Speed Ranking
+-------+----------------------+---------+
| rank | unit | speed |
+-------+----------------------+---------+
| 1. | destroyer | 10 |
| | transport | 10 |
| | oil tanker | 10 |
+-------+----------------------+---------+
| 2. | submarine | 7 |
| | (turtle) | |
+-------+----------------------+---------+
| 3. | battleship | 6 |
| | (ogre juggernaut) | |
+-------+----------------------+---------+
Table 3. Air Unit Speed Ranking
+-------+-------------------------+-------------------+--------+
| rank | unit | unit | speed |
| | (Human) | (Orcish) | |
+-------+-------------------------+-------------------+--------+
| 1. | gnomish flying machine | goblin zeppelin | 17 |
+-------+-------------------------+-------------------+--------+
| 2. | gryphon rider | dragon | 14* |
+-------+-------------------------+-------------------+--------+
* But they (purposely) react slowly to all changes of direction
PART I: The Insider Point of View [page 3 of 4]
Attack Power and Armor
[Repair Workers]
The repair workers
are industrious as
their encampment
goes down in
flames.
When one unit attacks another, both lose "hit points." Totals are
reduced for the unit that strikes and for the unit that suffers a
strike. All moving units begin with 30 (peasant) to 150 (battleship)
hit points; buildings with 100 (watch tower) to 1,600 (castle/fortress)
hit points. The hit points bar is a gauge of a unit's deteriorating
"health." The bar's color changes from green to yellow to red as the
damage worsens. Buildings that have been hit start to burn, but the
fire does not grow over time. Instead, more flames come with each
additional hit.
The game's mathematical program for "causing damage" weighs the
attacker's strength and the strength of the defender's armor, then
processes these figures with a random value to determine the total
damage for a hit. While this formula is easy to understand, it is more
complicated than the "damage" value displayed on screen might suggest.
The damage value simply indicates the range of hit points within which
the actual damage will fall. Here's how the math works:
A unit's attacking strength is formed by two components: "basic damage"
and "piercing damage." (These values can be found in the Map Editor
under "unit properties.") Basic damage suffered is reduced ­ if not
completely blocked ­ by a unit's armor. Piercing damage, however, is
totally unaffected by a unit's armor. These two damage values are
calculated, and a random value is then applied to this figure to
determine the final cost, expressed in hit points.
For example, say a normal (non-upgraded) grunt attacks a footman, his
Human equivalent. The grunt has a basic damage value of 6 points, and
the footman an armor value of 2 points. The basic damage of the
attacker exceeds the armor value of the defender by 4 points. Add this
number to the attacker's piercing damage (3), for a subtotal of 7
points. Next, 7 is divided by 2 and the result ­ rounded up when
necessary, as in this case ­ equals 4 points. This figure is the
rounded-up average of the two damage components (with the defender's
armor value already subtracted from the basic damage).
[Repair Workers]
"Damage" is
displayed as a
range of numbers,
as its value
depends on the
defending unit and
is influenced by
chance.
With each subsequent strike, a minimum of 4 points is subtracted from
the hit points of the unit under attack. The figure, however, is
multiplied by a random value between 1 and 2, which means the total
damage value can grow to twice the rounded-up average value. Therefore,
in our example the damage per strike is between 4 and 8 points. Since
an attacked footman begins with 60 hit points, it generally takes 9 to
10 strikes from a healthy grunt to slay the footman. Of course the unit
under attack may strike back. If two equally healthy units of the same
category (grunt/footman, archer/ax thrower etc.) go into battle, the
one who lands the first strike almost always survives, albeit with only
a few hit points remaining.
Buildings all have an armor value of 20. Now let's say a grunt attacks
a farm, which has an initial hit point total of 400 points. The basic
damage that a grunt may inflict on the building (6 points) is
completely blocked, which means a resulting basic damage figure of 0.
(Figures, by the way, cannot be negative.) Our only concern in this
case is the grunt's piercing damage ­ 3 points. Add 0 (the blocked
basic damage) and 3, divided by two equals 1.5 points, which rounds up
to 2 points. Now multiply the score by the random value (of up to 2).
The possible totals enable the grunt to inflict only 2 to 4 hit points
of damage on the building for each strike. Assuming that the grunt
inflicts an average of 3 damage points per strike, it would take more
than 130 strikes to raze the farm. That campaign would take a lot of
time, so you'd be better off enlisting several grunts and/or stronger
units, such as catapults, if you're set on trashing the farm.
For specific illustrations of these attack principles, look at Tables 4
through 7. Table 4 shows the attack power rankings when basic damage is
your priority. Table 5 gives the same rundown with piercing damage as
priority. Table 6 shows all possible duels of units and the average
damage (hit points subtracted from defender) per strike. Taking that
average damage per duel, and assuming the attacked unit or building is
not already deficient in hit points, Table 7 shows the approximate
average number of strikes or shots needed to vanquish a defender /
enemy, or raze a building. These figures will help you determine which
of your units will fare best against a particular enemy unit.
PART I: The Insider Point of View [page 4 of 4]
WarCraft's Internal Clock
[Damage Values]
The basic and
piercing damage
values for all
units can be viewed
in the Map Editor.
These values can
also be modified
for custom
scenarios. One unit
of build time, as
displayed here,
corresponds to 12
program cycles
(approximately one
third of a second).
WarCraft does not measure time in minutes and seconds, but in "program
cycles." The length of a cycle varies from system to system and depends
on game speed preferences as well. Running at normal speed on a Pentium
133 MHz, the game records about 40 program cycles in 1 second. Slower
machines will run fewer cycles per second, but even a 486 system will
complete no fewer than 30 cycles per second, as the program has
reserves (idle times) that cause delays on the fastest machines and are
skipped on the slower ones. The game program's internal timing also
affects attack power. Some units can fire multiple shots or make
multiple strikes in a given time (e.g. knights), others attack more
slowly (dragons have to breathe before and after spitting fire). Table
8 ranks the attack power of various units.
By the way, training time (for units) and construction time (for
buildings), both displayed by the Map Editor, have program cycle values
that are slightly different from those described above. To get the
actual number of program cycles for training and construction, multiply
the respective value by 12. Top of the list for construction time is
town hall (Orcish: Great Hall) with 255 so 255 x 12 = 3,060 program
cycles, which translates to about 80 seconds.
Table 8. Attack Power Ranking of All Weapons
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
| rank | unit | unit | "cease-fire" | "cease-fire" | shots |
| | (Human) | (Orcish) | (cycles) | (time)* | or |
| | | | | | strikes |
| | | | | | per |
| | | | | | minute* |
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
| 1. | peasant | peon | 25 | 0.7 sec | 85 |
| | footman | grunt | 25 | 0.7 sec | 85 |
| | knight | ogre | 25 | 0.7 sec | 85 |
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
| 2. | - | skeleton | 35 | 0.9 sec | 67 |
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
| 3. | mage | death | 40 | 1.0 sec | 60 |
| | | knight | | | |
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
| 4. | elven | axe | 65 | 1.7 sec | 35 |
| | ranger | thrower | 65 | 1.7 sec | 35 |
| | elven | troll | | | |
| | archer | berserker | | | |
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
| 5. | gnomish | giant | 100 | 2.6 sec | 38 |
| | submarine | turtle | | | |
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
| 6. | destroyer | destroyer | 120 | 3.2 sec | 19 |
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
| 7. | cannon | cannon | 150 | 3.9 sec | 15 |
| | tower | tower | 150 | 3.9 sec | 15 |
| | guard | guard | | | |
| | tower | tower | | | |
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
| 8. | gryphon | dragon | 190 | 5.0 sec | 12 |
| | rider | | | | |
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
| 9. | ballista | catapult | 200 | 5.3 sec | 11 |
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
| 10. | battleship | ogre | 230 | 6.1 sec | 10 |
| | | juggernaut | | | |
+------+------------+------------+--------------+--------------+---------+
* Pentium133
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PART II:
The Magic of Azeroth
In advanced WarCraft II gameplay, whether you're taking on the computer
or other players, spells make a world of difference. Spells are only
vaguely documented in the game manual, but as Blizzard Entertainment's
insider, we reveal all of the secrets of spells below.
WarCraft is set in a medieval fantasy world where brave warriors fight
with swords, arrows and bows. Also at your disposal, however, are 18
spells, which give you access to advanced "weapon technologies." Some
spells perform functions similar to those of land mine or area bombing
features of other strategy games. Other spells lead to whole new
strategic options, allowing you to make units temporarily invisible or
invincible. WarCraft's 18 spells will be covered first by a discussion
of the 9 spells of the paladins and mages of Azeroth, followed by a
description of the 9 curses of the Horde's ogre-mages and death
knights.
Availability of Spells
WarCraft has a few prerequisites for casting spells. First you need the
proper spellcaster. On the Human side, that means paladins or mages ­
which won't be available to you until certain buildings are present.
These buildings can only be constructed in the game's advanced stages ­
after you've already built a castle. Once you've put the proper
structure in place, you can upgrade any knight to a paladin by clicking
on the church and selecting the upgrade command; mages are trained in
the mage tower.
[Tower, Church, Castle]
There is no magic until you have either the
mage tower (left) or church (center) or
both. Either one requires a castle (right).
Each spellcaster comes with one spell ­ paladins have "Holy Vision" and
mages get the "fireball." Mages also start out with "lightning", which
is actually just a different name for their regular attack command. All
spells beyond the initial one have to be researched in the church or
mage tower, which costs time and money (gold, that is).
Similar to role-playing games, every WarCraft spell consumes a bit of
magic energy or "mana." The mana battery is recharged by one unit for
every 40 program cycles (about 1 second). After (a/the/its) battery
runs out, a mage or paladin needs at least four minutes of regeneration
to reach its maximum mana reserve of 255 units.
Using the cheat code "every little thing she does" you can activate all
spells (of the respective scenario) and receive unlimited mana. Enter
all cheat codes in the message window (hit Enter, type the code, then
hit Enter again to confirm).
PART II: The Magic of Azeroth [page 2 of 5]
Spells for Humans and Their Allies
Holy Vision
[Icon] unit: paladins
research: upgrade knights to paladins (1,000 gold)
shortcut key: V
mana consumption: 70
WarCraft II's tactical strength is enhanced by a "fog of war" concept:
You can only see the area your own units have sight on, and you still
remember the terrain and buildings of an area you have left, but do not
see moving units and do not notice any changes until you revisit the
previous areas.
On the other hand, the holy men of Azeroth ­ the paladins ­ are
visionary: They can look as far as they like, though only for short
moments. To get a better look at a target area, select a paladin, click
on the icon for "Holy Vision" (or hit the V key), then select a
location on the map. For about 1 second, the area around your target
location is unveiled, and you can see enemy units, if any are present.
In the wink of an eye the area is again covered by the fog of war
unless you still have units around.
In order to maximize the benefit from that brief period of illuminated
sight, proceed as follows: Select the paladin, cast the Holy Vision
spell, and double-click the target location on the mini-map (upper left
corner). The first click throws the spell, the second one immediately
brings up your target area in the larger command map window.
Pay attention to the signal that sounds when you cast the Holy Vision
spell and all other spells. If you hear that sound while playing
against the computer or other players and you haven't cast the spell
yourself, assume that an enemy has taken a Holy Vision look at your
encampment. An opponent capable of doing so must have already disposed
of a castle, i.e. a very advanced infrastructure.
Healing
[Icon] unit: paladins
research: church; 1,000 Gold
shortcut key: H
mana consumption: 6 to 240
[Holy Water]
Rather than laying
hands on a patient,
paladins heal by
casting holy water.
Paladins are capable of healing the wounds of the warriors of Azeroth.
Healing restores a warrior's hit points, and allows the warrior to go
back into battle and suffer more damage. To heal a warrior, select a
paladin and cast the Healing spell on the patient. The paladin will
throw a gallon of holy water over a distance of up to 6 matrices (50
percent farther than the bows of a non-upgraded archer go!).
Paladins can heal all units of flesh and blood but not wooden units
such as catapults, zeppelins or ships. If you accidentally click on the
wrong target, you may give medical service to your enemies ­ a
humanitarian act ­ but it doesn't pay off in WarCraft II.
A paladin can't heal himself, but one paladin can cast the Healing
spell on another. That means you can put together some very powerful
squads of two or more paladins that heal each other in the midst of
combat. (The tactic of having paladins fight and heal simultaneously
was not a viable choice in WarCraft I. The clerics were just too weak
to really be engaged at the front line.) The computer also uses such
paladin crews against you, and it is has the advantage of being able to
cast the Healing spell faster than any human player with the mouse or
keyboard. You can watch that paladin crew tactic from the Orc campaign
in scenario 8 if you land on the island at Caer Darrow to steal the
Rune Stone.
The Healing spell's strength is determined by units of mana. For every
6 units of mana, the damaged unit gets back 1 hit point. The paladin
will use as much mana as necessary to heal the unit ­ up to 240 mana
points (healing by 40-hit points). The damaged unit may be restored to
full health (all hit points intact), if the paladin's mana is
sufficient. Dealing several healings in a row to a single unit (usually
by different paladins) is certainly possible ­ and often necessary.
Exorcism
[Icon] unit: paladins
research: church; 2,000 Gold
shortcut key: E
mana consumption: 4 to 252
The tale of WarCraft says that the Orcs ally with various demonic
powers against the Humans. Guldan the Warlock raises some fallen
knights of Azeroth from the dead, conjures them to obey him, and gives
them magic powers. Furthermore, these "undead" units can resurrect
other units (directly upon their deaths) by turning them into
skeletons.
The Humans call for the help of God to send these evil creatures back
to hell. To do that, they have to learn the Exorcism spell, which is an
incredibly strong weapon if you use it right.
Click on the Exorcism button and choose a relatively distant target (up
to 10 matrices away from the paladin). It makes no difference whether
or not you aim at a particular enemy unit. All "undead" enemies (death
knights and skeletons) within 6 matrices of the target location in
every direction are identified. One unlucky undead unit is picked at
random and suffers 1 hit point of damage per 4 mana points of the
paladin, a process that is repeated automatically until either the
target unit is killed or the paladin runs out of mana. If there is mana
left and a death knight and/or skeleton are still around, the next
"victim" is automatically selected and starts taking damage.
A "fully charged" paladin (255 mana points) can kill a "healthy" death
knight (60 Treffer-Punkte) and still have 15 mana points left. More
four-packs of the remaining mana points are immediately used against
other undead units around.
The Exorcism spell may sound more complicated than it actually is. Once
you get the hang of it, you'll find the spell to be of particular
relevance in scenarios 13 and 14 of the Human campaign, where Orcish
death knights pester your land like the plague.
In addition to the immediate damage it deals to your enemy, the
Exorcism spell also has an interesting side effect: A unit attacked by
the spell will immediately ignore all previous commands (except for
"stand ground") and attack the spellcasting paladin. You can use that
feature to your advantage by luring death knights and skeletons from
the most secure encampments to defeat them in combat.
One more note: Because the Exorcism spell only affects death knights
(including the non-player character Guldan) and skeletons, it is
completely useless against other armies of the Human race ("traitor"
missions or multi-player battles). When you're facing these opponents,
spending 2,000 units of gold on research is a pure waste.
Fireball
[Icon] unit: mage
research: not necessary
shortcut key: F
mana consumption: 100
[Fireball]
The fireball has
a varying effect
as it flies.
The fireball is a fierce weapon and graphically among the best that
WarCraft II has to offer. It can be launched as far as 10 matrices (!)
from the mage that casts it. A fireball is most dangerous when it's
exploding ­ and blow-ups can happen several times during one flight.
The explosion damage factor is 40 hit points (a factor not influenced
by the defender's armor or by chance) ­ 20 points to the left and 20
points to the right in matrices perpendicular to the fireball's path of
travel. Between large explosions, the damage power is still equivalent
to 20 (10 to the left and 10 to the right).
The fireball hits ground, sea and air units. The fireball is an
effective weapon against dragons; to do the trick, you need either
three well-targeted fireballs, or 1 to 2 fireballs combined with other
hits, e.g. by elven archers.
Fireballs are most useful in situations where several enemy units/
buildings are closely aligned in one row. The effect of the fireball is
the same whether it hits several targets or flies in open space ­ there
are always four equally strong explosions during its flight.
PART II: The Magic of Azeroth [page 3 of 5]
Spells For Humans and Their Allies Continued
Slow
[Icon] unit: mage
research: mage tower; 500 gold
shortcut key: O
mana consumption: 50
[Slow]
The knight and
the two elven
archers are
slowed down, and
the mage can get
away.
The Slow spell reduces the speed of all actions of an enemy unit for a
duration of 1,000 program cycles (approximately 25 seconds). The
movements as well as the attack speed (number of shots / strikes per
time) is set to about half of the normal values. This makes it easier
to escape or, depending on your position, to corner and defeat an
enemy.
The Slow spell uses 50 mana points to slow one enemy unit. The effect
of the spell, while it lasts, is shown by a skeleton hand next to the
unit:
You can slow down several units at the same time, but applying the same
spell twice on the same unit does not double the time the spell lasts.
The time is just reset to 1,000 cycles (25 seconds), but can never
assume a higher value.
The Slow spell has a reach of 10 matrices (25 percent farther than a
catapult) and affects all units.
Flame Shield
[Icon] unit: mage
research: mage tower; 1,000 gold
shortcut key: L
mana consumption: 80
[Flame Shield]
Not only does the flame
shield protect you, but
it also injures all
adjacent attackers.
Even such harmless units as the peasants become powerful when affected
by this spell. A flame shield lasts about 15 seconds and consists of
five flames rotating in a circle around the unit. Three times per
second, each flame causes 1 hit point of damage to the unit under it,
regardless of that unit's armor. So a unit that is under or adjacent to
the flame shield will continually loses one point after another until
it escapes.
When the effect of the flame shield ceases after its relatively short
duration, the temporarily dangerous unit is no longer protected and can
only escape in a few cases. So the flame shield is, more often than
not, a kamikaze weapon. It is especially useful when you have already
harvested all resources and need to make good use of your remaining
peasants in the final phase of a battle.
Another intriguing option is to put the flame shield on an enemy unit.
If the affected unit is surrounded by other units (or is moving towards
them), the shielded unit will cause damage without any of your own
fighters having to risk their lives.
The flame shield is only applicable to organic ground units, not to
zeppelins. The dwarven demolition squads are too fragile for most
spells, but the flame shield is one they can live with.
Invisibility
[Icon] unit: mage
research: mage tower; 2,500 gold
shortcut key: I
mana consumption: 200
[Invisibility]
The knight is
now invisible to
the enemies
until he attacks
someone, or 50
seconds have
passed.
If you've always dreamed about making your way behind the enemy front
line without being seen ­ the most costly spell (2,500 gold) ­
Invisibility ­ makes it come true. For up to 2,000 program cycles
(approximately 50 seconds), every moving unit can be made invisible. An
eye next to the unit indicates its position and lets you know that your
enemy can't see it.
As soon as an invisible unit begins to attack another one, the effect
of the spell ceases. Another restriction: The dwarven demolition squads
fall apart under the pressure of this spell. Why? These units already
have the greatest damage power (400!). The added advantage of
invisibility would make for an unwieldy combo.
Polymorph
[Icon] unit: mage
research: mage tower; 2,000 gold
shortcut key: V
mana consumption: 200
The Polymorph spell is the fastest and safest method for getting rid of
all enemy units except wooden ones. Simply turn any foe into a critter
(or a seal on winter maps). The unit can continue to exist as a
creature but it has no chance to participate in the battle anymore. You
can go slaughter that harmless animal but you don't have to (even if
the mission objective is to kill all enemies).
The reach of the spell is 10 matrices, so it can be cast from a safe
distance. The polymorphed unit is unable to defend itself, and even the
enemy units standing nearby will only attack the mage if he makes the
mistake of moving close enough to be spotted by them.
If you miss your target, you can accidentally polymorph your own units,
which is an absolutely irreversible mistake.
Blizzard
[Icon] unit: mage
research: mage tower; 2,000 gold
shortcut key: B
mana consumption: 25 to 250
[Blizzard]
The poor castle suffers
an area bombing by the
Texas-size hail shards of
a Blizzard.
The company namesake, the Blizzard spell, is a special display of
creative programming. This spell allows you to send some nasty weather
to a target location up to 12 matrices away (50 percent more than the
reach of a catapult). Every Blizzard costs 25 mana points, and the mage
auto-repeats that spell at the same location until it runs out of mana
or gets a different order.
Each Blizzard consists of 50 "hail shards", meaning you get two shards
per mana point (not a bad deal). Ten shards hit each of the 5 target
points, which are selected at random from around your target location.
Each shard causes continuous damage of 10 hit points where it hits the
ground.
Note that 5 new shard target points are selected when the spell is
auto-repeated. The points will, however, always be in the proximity of
the target location you selected. Buildings are sufficiently large
enough to be hit by almost any shard; moving units better escape when
they're in for a Blizzard.
In the great showdown of the Human campaign (level 14), the best way to
destroy the Dark Portal is with the help of the Blizzard spell. Here
you can also try catapult shots, but you need about 70 of those to burn
the Portal down. Just send a few mages over and let them cast the
Blizzard spell; that's faster. Even the units that guard the Portal can
quickly be defeated with the Blizzard.
With their reach exceeding that of catapults, the Blizzards are
perfectly suited for razing the dangerous guard and cannon towers.
Nearby enemy units will attack immediately when the shards fly, so
protect your mages with some ground units when casting the spell.
You can create an apocalyptic scenario for your opponent by having
several mages cast Blizzards at the same time. With tons of shards
hitting next to each other all at different times your enemy may be
overwhelmed.
PART II: The Magic of Azeroth [page 4 of 5]
Spells for the Dead and the Horde
When the Orcish Horde mobilizes, even the dead have to join the army!
In the second part of the description of all WarCraft II spells, we
give you all the details on the ogre-mage and death knight spells. Once
again, the Blizzard programmers have provided a variety of insider
secrets.
Some say that most WarCraft players prefer the part of the Orcish War
Chief. That we can't verify, but if you are in that group, then read
closely to learn about the evil spells you need to conquer Lordaeron.
If you command the Alliance troops, you should at least know which
demonic forces undermine your efforts to proudly defend humanity
against the Horde.
Dark Forces
The ogre-mages may not be able to count to three, but they know three
(out of nine) Orcish spells. It's funny to watch two-headed sumo
wrestlers snap their graceful fingers every time they cast a spell. In
order to give them magic abilities, you have to construct an "Altar of
the Storms", where you can upgrade the regular ogres into ogre-mages
for 1,000 units of gold. The Altar of Storms can only be constructed
after you have upgraded the Great Hall twice (first to a stronghold,
then to a fortress).
The fortress is also required to build the Temple of the Damned, where
death knights are summoned. Death knights take care of the other six
Orcish spells. Those are, as we will see here, at least as powerful as
the ones available to the Humans have available. On the other hand, the
death knights "live" a dangerous life: they are quite susceptible to
the Exorcism spell of the paladins (as previously in the Human spells
section).
[] The fortress (bottom) is needed to build the Altar of the Storms
(left) and the Temple of the Damned (right), if you want to turn the
ogres into ogre-mages (upper left) and train death knights (upper
right).
Every ogre-mage is initially given a spell called "Eye of Kilrogg"; the
death knights start out with the "death coil." The "Touch of Darkness",
however, is another name for the regular attack function of the death
knight (comparable to the "lightning attack" of the mages). Like their
Human counterparts, the warlocks of the Orcish Horde also need some
regeneration time to get their magic batteries recharged. They can have
up to 255 mana points at a time, which takes about 1 second (40 program
cycles) per point (up to four minutes for a complete recharge (0 to
255).
The previously described cheat code "every little thing she does"
affects the Orcs and the Humans in the same way. That cheat makes all
spells available (as though they had been researched) and resets the
mana points of all magic units to 255. If the cheat code is entered
again, mana becomes a limited resource again, but all the spells remain
available.
Eye of Kilrogg
[Icon] unit: ogre-mage
research: upgrade ogres to ogre-mages (1,000 gold)
shortcut key: E
mana consumption: 70
[]
The Eye of Kilrogg has
flown diagonally
across the map to
watch the enemy's
encampment.
While the Holy Vision of the paladins is heaven-sent, the Orcish
ability to explore enemy territory is provided by a long died warlock
named Kilrogg. The Eye of Kilrogg that results from the spell is an
"air unit" and is controlled as such. You can summon several Eyes of
Kilrogg at the same time.
Every Eye of Kilrogg has a limited lifespan. Unless previously
eliminated by the guard towers and arrows of the archers, it lasts 765
program cycles, which is about 20 seconds. It disappears just as
quickly as appears when summoned.
Twenty seconds may seems brief for all there is to explore. The Eye of
Kilrogg unit, however, can cover a lot of territory in that time. It's
the fastest of all WarCraft II units (2.5 times as fast as the
"second-ranked" zeppelin). As figure 22 shows, it can easily cross the
map from one corner to another. Be sure to move the Command Map along
with the Eye of Kilrogg so you really get a full view.
Bloodlust
[Icon] unit: ogre-mage
research: Altar of the Storms; 1,000 gold
shortcut key: B
mana consumption: 50
Rage gives a fighter strength ­ at least in WarCraft II ­ and for 50
mana points, you can let one unit lose its mind. When the Bloodlust
spell is active you'll see a blood symbol next to the unit; you can
also hear the affected unit crack out with rage. Be careful, though ­
if you miss your target, you may end up strengthening your enemy.
[]
A group of crazy Orcs
under the Bloodlust
spell.
The spell cannot be used on non-organic units (catapults or ships). An
ogre-mage can't enter the Bloodlust state, but several ogre-mages can
turn each other into raging monsters.
The Bloodlust spell can be cast up to 6 matrices (three quarters of the
distance of a catapult shot). Its effect is to double of the attack
power of a unit for a duration of 1,000 program cycles (approximately
25 seconds). The damage calculation for this spell is similar to that
described in Part I ("WarCraft's Inner Workings"),but the basic and
piercing damage are both doubled. Here's an example of the doubling
effect:
Let's say a grunt with Bloodlust attacks a footman. Under the spell,
the basic damage increases from 6 to 12 hit points and the piercing
damage from 3 to 6 hit points. Actual damage is calculated as such:
From the basic damage subtract the armor of the defender (2 in this
case), which now results in 10 (instead of 6-2=4 when Bloodlust is not
active). Now add the piercing damage (6 instead of 3). The subtotal of
those values is 16, half of which is 8. So the attacked units loses
between 8 and 16 hit points with every strike (as opposed to the normal
4 to 8) as long as the attacker is under Bloodlust.
Everything may sound different, but [a unit's] speed and attack are not
affected by the Bloodlust spell.
Runes
[Icon] unit: ogre-mage
research: Altar of the Storms; 1,000 gold
shortcut key: R
mana consumption: 200
[]
The Runes only
show up once in
awhile.
[]
Our own axe
thrower stepped
into a Rune he
didn't see.
[]
Be careful, oil
tanker! These
runes are hidden
in the sea.
Runes are kind of like land mines. Cast into the ground five at a time
by ogre-mages, runes will explode once any unit (your own or those of
an enemy) runs into them. Like land mines Runes are hard to spot and
only show up intermittently (figure 26) as red symbols. Furthermore,
you can place them across a relatively long distance (10 matrices ­
farther than the towers can see) from the casting ogre-mage.
An exploding rune causes a damage of 50 hit points to the unit that
touches it. That damage is independent from armor and chance. Some
ground units (particularly injured ones) can die from one rune, but a
second one means the end for any unit. In the heat of battle,
especially when fighting on various fronts, you can't always react fast
enough and save a unit after the explosion of the first rune before
it's already stepped on the next one.
The five runes are always arranged in the same pattern. Each rune has a
damage power of 50 but can only explode once. The Rune spell can be
active for up to 2,048 program cycles (about 50 seconds), after which
the runes themselves disappear.
Runes can also be used as water mines (figure 28). Only air units are
not vulnerable to the Rune spell.
Runes are somewhat useful in single-player games against the computer,
but they are most fun when you engage in multi-player battles.
Some incorrect information on the Runes has been (and still is)
circulating on the Internet. There were descriptions of cheat codes
that were said to deactivate the Runes, and others, which activate them
once again. All untrue, according to Blizzard ­ and they would know.
Death Coil
[Icon] unit: death knight
research: construct Temple of the Damned
shortcut key: C
mana consumption: 100
The Death Coil spell is a powerful weapon, and beyond that has a
"bloodsucking" function: The death knight that casts it increases its
own health (hit points left) at the expense of the victim. On the
screen, the Death Coil is displayed in a yellowish color. The reach of
the spell is up to 10 matrices (one fourth farther than a catapult).
[]
The knight hit by
a death coil has
no chance of
escape.
The death coil only affects organic units, including the gryphon
riders. The damage caused by the death coil amounts to 50 hit points.
With two death coils, you can kill any gryphon rider, even a healthy
one.
Every hit point that the Death Coil takes away from the enemy is
credited to the attacking death knight. The unit restores its health at
the expense of the defender's vitality. So if you have a wounded death
knight, let it cast the Death Coil from a safe distance on some healthy
opponents. Even after the death knight has all of its hit points
restored, the death coil continues to cause damage.
The Death Coil optimizes its effect in a manner comparable to that of
the Exorcism spell of the paladins ­ but this spell is more powerful.
When you cast the spell, you select a target location (reach: 10). In
an area of 5 by 5 matrices, which is centered around your selected
target location, all organic enemy units are identified. The complete
damage power of 50 (independent of armor and chance) is allocated among
all units so it always kills the most damaged unit first. If there is
still damage power left, it goes on to the next unit ­ theoretically,
there could be 25 units with 2 hit points left each, and one death coil
would drain all their lives!
On screen, it may sometimes look as though a quickly moving unit could
escape the death coil. Not true. The death coil will find its target no
matter how fast it's moving.
PART II: The Magic of Azeroth [page 5 of 5]
Spells for the Dead and the Horde Continued
Haste
[Icon] unit: death knight
research: Temple of the Damned; 500 gold
shortcut key: H
mana consumption: 50
This spell has an effect almost opposite to that of the mage Slow
spell: Every unit it hits will move like greased lightning for 1,000
program cycles (25 seconds). In fact you'll see a little lightning
symbol while the effect of the spell lasts. This spell is pure dope ­
it could have been named after some sprinter.
[]
Lightning-fast Orcs:
doping for 25
seconds.
Acceleration under the Haste spell is different for each unit ­ most
have their normal speed doubled. Units that are already fast (ogres)
are relatively unaffected. The spell works on all moving units,
including catapults and ships, but unlike the Slow spell, it does not
increase attack speed (number of shots/strikes over time).
The spell's reach is 6 matrices (that's midway between the reach of
archers and catapults). Again unlike the Slow spell, Haste is not for
use by enemy units. So step a bit closer if you want to rev up your
units with this spell.
Raise Dead
[Icon] unit: death knight
research: Temple of the Damned; 1,500 gold
shortcut key: R
mana consumption: 50 per skeleton
Death knights are undead creatures who have the power to conjure other
dead ones. The Raise Dead spell, first cast by the necrolytes in
WarCraft I, gives you the opportunity to add some skeletons to your
army. This spell is useful in every phase of the game but particularly
in what chess players refer to as the "Endspiel" ­ when a few remaining
units from both sides face each other for the final showdown. Here
Raise Dead can spell that little difference between victory and defeat
if you conjure two or more recently-expired war heroes.
[]
Just fallen,
but ready to
battle
again.
The reach of the Raise Dead spell is about 6 matrices. Sufficient mana
(50 points per skeleton) provided, one or more corpses at the target
location and nearby are raised from the dead. They join your army as
skeleton units.
Control a skeleton as you would any other ground unit. It costs no gold
or lumber, doesn't eat, and if it hasn't been defeated in combat
before, its "life" ends after 25,500 program cycles (well over 10
minutes) ­ when it bursts into pieces as if it had been killed by the
Exorcism spell of the enemy's paladins (against which it is extremely
vulnerable). By the way, skeletons placed on the map with the Map
Editor in your own custom scenarios don't have that automatic lifespan
limitation.
Except for the limited lifespan and the susceptibility to the Exorcism
spell, don't underestimate the value of the skeletons for your army.
The have as many hit points to start with as the regular axe throwers
(not berserkers), and the same attack power as a grunt (basic damage 6,
piercing damage 3, reach 1). They will win most duels against opponents
without armor (mages, goblin demo squads, peasants and archers);
against all others, they always inflict some injury, making it easier
for the next attacker to kill them.
A skeleton's sight value is limited to 3, which is 1 less than that of
grunts and peasants. Skeletons don't have any particular armor (just
like the peons and axe throwers), and their speed value of 8 (like the
death knights) is lower than that of all other ground units (10 and
more) except for the catapults (5). Skeletons are particularly useful
for dangerous (if not kamikaze) missions against approaching catapults.
True WarCraft experts use one or more spells (particularly Bloodlust,
Haste, Unholy Armor) on the skeletons, which then become supernatural
elite soldiers for a short time.
[]
The ogre is
dead but
can't get up
yet as a
skeleton.
[]
Units in
these
"states" can
become
skeletons.
Generally speaking, any dead unit's corpse can be turned into a
skeleton ­ your own nation's victims of war as well as those of your
former enemies ­ both will then execute your commands. The cause of
death, whether combat or spell, is not relevant. A death knight can
first kill an enemy with the Death Coil and later turn the corpse into
a skeleton ­ double or nothing.
Only ground units leave a decaying corpse that can be raised from dead
­ air and sea units do not. Catapults or units that are already undead
(skeletons and death knights) don't either. As the Human mages are the
corresponding unit type to the Orcish death knights, they also
disappear once killed and are not "recyclable" with the Raise Dead
spell.
Also, you can't raise just any corpse! Some are still wrestling with
death and not yet qualified for skeleton status. You must wait three or
more seconds before attempting the Raise Dead spell. Afterwards, there
are still about 1,000 program cycles (25 seconds) left, in which the
spell is applicable. Figure 36 shows the decaying phases of an ogre
that is dead but not yet ready to be raised. Figure 37 shows the
decaying phases for the ogre (and all other creatures), in which the
Raise Dead spell does work. After that, the remnants of the corpse
disappear completely and it's too late to raise the dead.
Whirlwind
[Icon] unit: death knight
research: Temple of the Damned; 1,500 gold
shortcut key: W
mana consumption: 100 per whirlwind
[]
A whirlwind
brings panic to
the Human town.
[]
The gryphon is
flying through
an area of
turbulence.
The Orcish death knights are capable of causing a true natural
catastrophe ­ with whirlwinds. These units can cause twisters to appear
up to 12 matrices away from their own location, which is three times
the distance across which a peon can see.
The whirlwinds affect all enemy units (ground, sea, submarine, air)
they touch. They move in totally random patterns, are not attracted by
nearby units, and make no effort to go around them.
Each whirlwind lasts 800 program cycles (20 seconds) ­ plenty of time
for disaster-making. A unit that stands in the whirlwind's center will
lose 4 hit points every 4 cycles. But because the whirlwind is in
constant motion, getting your unit out of the twister is not difficult.
Most units caught by a whirlwind are not at its center (where most
damage happens) but are only touched on its periphery ­ that costs only
1 hit point every tenth of a second.
Unholy Armor
[Icon] unit: death knight
research: Temple of the Damned; 2,500 gold
shortcut key: U
mana consumption: 100 per armor
[]
Some units are
protected by the
Unholy Armor.
[]
An ogre is
blinded
by all the
magic.
The most costly Orc spell (2,500 gold) is a true pact with the devil. A
unit affected by the Unholy Armor spell is absolutely invulnerable for
500 program cycles (about 13 seconds).
Unholy Armor works, on all moving units including ships and flying
ones, as shown above. The goblin demolition squads, however, burst
under the high pressure of this spell. The attack power or speed of
units is not increased by the Unholy Armor, but the spell can
definitely be combined with others.
Death and Decay
[Icon] unit: death knight
research: Temple of the Damned; 2,000 gold
shortcut key: D
mana consumption: 25 to 250
The application and function of the Death and Decay spell is identical
to the Blizzard spell of the Human mages but has a different
appearance: It looks and sounds like a smoldering fire. In a way, that
feels even more scary than the Blizzard.
[]
A smoldering
fire burns
buildings and
units, no
warning given.
The Death and Decay spell is already causing damage when you see it,
unlike the Blizzard spell's fraction of a second delay before the
shards hit the ground.
If a Human general is attacked by the opponent's Death and Decay, the
most effective cure is the Exorcism spell. Exorcism doesn't stop D & D
immediately, but it helps you get rid of the death knight ­ quickly and
from a safe distance ­ so he can no longer use the spell.
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